Your Personal Treasure Hunt

Reduce the impact of your wardrobe on the environment and on your wallet by thrift shopping.

I have shopped at thrift/recycled/vintage/opportunity shops for over twenty years. Some former buyers for some of our big department stores opened up small shops in inner Melbourne, selling designer, recycled clothes at extraordinary prices. Those ladies guided me and led me to repurpose and buy economically. From the outset, however, I do stress the need to look at tips to minimize your environmental and social impact

As I began scouring the web for some links to include today I stumbled upon Vintage and Thrift Store Shopping In Nice and ended up exploring Allison Coe’s rabbit hole. Her blog is a wonderful example of how you can create niche sites using programs like WordPress. She even promotes some accommodation. At $62 AUS a night, I could be seriously tempted to be like Virginia Wolfe and have a room of my own in Nice for a month. While in Nic I could fit in some serious thrift shopping. Better still, I could find a place where a group of like-minded could go, and have a retreat with a bit of a difference.

Thrift shopping is a form of treasure hunting! Just as I love to stumble upon a ‘lemonade stall’ selling plants that the big nurseries never stock, I do love to find a good thrift store. “Op shopping cuts out concerns you may have while trying to be an ethical consumer. Since everything purchased has been donated, you help break the cycle of fast fashion by giving old clothing another chance. Instead of your money financing unsafe production methods or working conditions, the cash goes to a charity that aids crucial social work in the community. Nothing tops the feeling of wearing an upcycled, unique outfit from the local Salvos that’s contributed to a better world.”

Apart from scouring thrift stores for clothes, they are a repository for all sorts of discarded objects. Just imagine Margery Williams finding an old rabbit in a thrift store and going on to write the beloved Velveteen Rabbit. When I run my Travels With A Donkey Course I always include a visit to thrift stores, disposal shops and would include a salvage yard if there was one nearby. These places are full of seeds of inspiration, just waiting to be gathered. For example, these shoes have a narrative to tell; may have provided a clue, in one of Peter James’s murder mysteries.

So what are you doing looking at your computer screen? Find space for intuition to guide you. Get yourself out on a treasure hunt and see what ideas materialize!

While Waiting

On the basis that things Grow by Delay I began killing time by doing a spot of sniff mapping around Central Victoria with my two dogs. While my companions and I waited for Godotto provide some direction, magic has taken place. When we slow down, connect with the country and create a nurturing environment, the blossom turns to fruit and the wheat ripens. Forks in the road appear that take us in exciting new directions.

Soul Food Constellation

The Soul Food Cafe, built by Heather Blakey, was inhabited by an international group of writers and artists whose global mission was to promote writing and art-making as a daily practice through the use of interactive web-based technologies such as blogging and e-mail groups. While Waiting for Godot is a branch of this complex site.

Soul Food remains a wonderful resource. Using the Wayback Machine link you can access all the features of this quirky world.

Finnish Lapphunds

The Finnish Lapphund is a hardy, easy going, medium-size breed of Spitz type. Traditionally this dog has been engaged to help herd reindeer. Although it is one of the most popular dog breeds in its native country, Finland, it is not very numerous outside of the Nordic countries. Lapphunds are not common in Australia but an increasing number have found their way here.

Contact While Waiting for Godot

heatherblakey@fastmail.fm

Acknowledgement of Country

Anika, Archie and I acknowledge that we are on Jaara country, and that the members and elders of the Dja Dja Warrung community and their forebears have been custodians of this land for many centuries, performing age-old ceremonies of celebration, initiation and renewal. We acknowledge their living culture and their unique role in the life of this nation. We pay respect to the elders past and present of the Dja Dja Warrung nation and extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.